****ASWAD - COOL SUMMER REGGAE****

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COOL SUMMER REGGAE

1. Night Nurse

2. Good Thing Going

3. Roxxane

4. Don't Turn Around

5. Stir It Up

6. Lifted

7. Uptight

8. Shine

9. Would I Lie To You

10. Weather With You

11. Searching

12. No No No

13. Dancing In The Moonlight

14. I Can See Clearly Now

15. Shy Guy

16. Smokey Blues (Live)

17. Two Makes One (Live)

•Artist: Aswad

•Tittle: Cool Summer Reggae

•Genre: Roots Reggae

•Record Label:

•Year: 2002

•Country: United Kingdom

'Cool Summer Reggae' contains the UK reggae act's first newrecordings since 1999's 'Roots Revival'. Alongside re-recordings of their hits such as 'Don't Turn Around' and 'Shine',they turn their hand to material originally performed by acts such as Crowded House, Toploader and The Police. Former Eternal star, Easther Bennett, joins them to perform lead vocals on 'Shy Guy'.

Believe it or not, Aswad have been around in one way or another for almost 30 years. For their latest album (their 16th!), rather than release a greatest hits collection, they've decided to go down the covers album road.

OK, so that's not a particularly original idea either, but Aswad actually have something different to offer. Being a reggae-based band, they've covered a selection of both reggae AND non-reggae singles in a reggae style. Now, before you stop and think, "but reggae's not for me", you might not realise just how many reggae-style or reggae-influenced songs you already know - and like! And if you've ever enjoyed any of Aswad's previous material, you'll probably find this album right up your street.

Admittedly when I first listened to "Cool Summer Reggae" I had my reservations. It starts off well with an updated version of their superb 1994 Top 5 hit "Shine", and interestingly they've also re-worked their 1988 No. 1 "Don't Turn Around". However, it's the collaboration with Eternal's Easther Bennett on the Diana King track "Shy Guy" that puts an end to any doubts. Definitely the most instantly likeable song on the album, it really makes you sit up and take notice. Easther's vocals not only fit in perfectly with Aswad's funky sound, but are a huge improvement over Diana King's.

On the whole, Aswad have picked a good selection of tracks to cover, the majority of which are very easy to get into. Other praise-worthy songs include China Black's "Searching", Sugar Minott's "Good Thing Going" (recently covered by EastEnders' Sid Owen), Johnny Nash's "I Can See Clearly Now", and a weirdly likeable version of Crowded House's "Weather With You". Come to think of it, there are so many good tunes on this album I could list almost all of them!

Having said that, a couple of the tracks do take a bit of getting used to, probably because they're so different to the originals. I'm mostly referring to the Lighthouse Family's "Lifted" here, while Toploader's "Dancing In The Moonlight" still strikes me as a bizarre choice of cover. Also, the last two tracks ("Smokey Blues" and "Two Makes One") aren't as familiar as the rest of the album, being live versions of Aswad album tracks. Nevertheless, for the most part, the majority of the songs are so uplifting and positive it's hard not to get swept away in the summery vibes.

To sum it all up, the overall feel of this album is that it's a laid back, pleasant, summery, feel-good collection of songs with something that will appeal to everyone. In fact the title, "Cool Summer Reggae", could not be a more fitting description!